no. 01
Flexagon
Repeating 4-frame Rectangular Animation Contraption

Bending the card according to its material memory brings the recipient through a 4-frame story. More here.

 

no. 02
Hexaflexagon
4 Repeating Frames

A hexaflexagon is a paper toy, an advertising display device, a “storytelling contraption,” and an interactive demonstration of geometry that requires physical activation in order to be “read.” Through the actions of bending, twisting or rotating, these paper gadgets reveal sequential, looping frames—providing an addic- tive format to tell stories and jokes, to reveal nested information, to create art or simply to provide a satisfy- ing outlet for nervous energy. More information here in an article for How Magazine.

 

no. 03
5-Sided Collapsible Tube
Auxetic Metamaterial

Source: Submitted by Erana Kratounis during Code-Paper-Scissors at SFPC.

 

no. 04
Spring-like behavior
Auxetic Metamaterial

Source: Johannes Overvelde, James Weaver, Chuck Hoberman and Katia Bertoldi, Rational design of reconfigurable prismatic architected materials, Nature 541, 347-352, 19 January 2017.

 

no. 05
Miura-ori Fold
"Programmable" by deforming parts of the pattern
Try varying the angles

The Miura fold (ミウラ折り Miura-ori) is a method of folding a flat surface such as a sheet of paper into a smaller area. The fold is named for its inventor, Japanese astrophysicist Koryo Miura.[1] The crease patterns of the Miura fold form a tessellation of the surface by parallelograms. In one direction, the creases lie along straight lines, with each parallelogram forming the mirror reflection of its neighbor across each crease. In the other direction, the creases zigzag, and each parallelogram is the translation of its neighbor across the crease. Each of the zigzag paths of creases consists solely of mountain folds or of valley folds, with mountains alternating with valleys from one zigzag path to the next. Each of the straight paths of creases alternates between mountain and valley folds.[2] The Miura fold is a form of rigid origami, meaning that the fold can be carried out by a continuous motion in which, at each step, each parallelogram is completely flat. This property allows it to be used to fold surfaces made of rigid materials. For instance, large solar panel arrays for space satellites in the Japanese space program have been Miura folded before launch and then spread out in space.[3][4] A folded Miura fold can be packed into a compact shape, its thickness reflecting only the thickness of the folded material. Folded material can be unpacked in one motion by pulling on its opposite ends, and likewise folded by pushing the two ends together. In the solar array application, this property reduces the number of motors required to unfold this shape, reducing weight and complexity. (Wikipedia)

 

no. 06
Bistable mechanism
Try it at various sizes to adjust the strength of bistability "snap"

Source: Itai Cohen Group, Cornell University This is a single unit of the square twist pattern. Mathematically speaking, this folding pattern is unfoldable. The result is a bistable mechanism-- a sort of paper switch.

 

no. 07
Hexagonal Origami Flasher

Flashers are collapsible, deployable structures. This design was developed by Jeremy Shafer. More on the mathematics of how flashers work here.

 

no. 08
Rotating Cam with Arm

This structure demonstrates how ideas from mechanical engineering might be adapted to paper engineering. The user turns the wheel to engage an oblong-shaped cam. Because of the unequal geometry of the cam, the mounted arm animates in an exaggerated and unexpected fashion. Adapted from David Carter's The Elements of Pop-up.

 

no. 09
Two-Blind Reveal
Dissolve

This form simplifies the traditional Venetian Blind structure down to a simple, two-layered structure. Adapted from David Carter's The Elements of Pop-up.

 

no. 10
Linear to Rotary Movement

This pull-tab structure may either be hand-operated or be propelled by the motion of opening and closing a book. It is strong and produces as much as 80 degrees of rotary motion. Adapted from David Carter's The Elements of Pop-up.

 

no. 11
Percussive Object
Noisemaker

Serrated edges moving through flaps produces differing tempos of percussive. It is strong and produces as much as 80 degrees of rotary motion. Adapted from David Carter's The Elements of Pop-up.

 

no. 12
Modified Waterbomb

The classic, bisected X waterbomb crease pattern is one of the most frequently-employed base patterns in origami. The raising-and-lowering (and collapsing-and-spreading) geometry of the waterbomb is being investigated as an alternative method for tuning different types of antennas. In these tests, paper is printed with dipole and square loop conductive elements and—as the paper moves—is used to tune antennas, sensors, and reflectors. This fold pattern has proven an effective structure in offering a way to sensitively control the resonant tuning of such components. This modified version inverts every other diamond.

 

no. 13
Sequenced Folding Patterns

Folding patterns which produce very different types (and directions) of movement may be sequenced together in a single sheet. Combining patterns in this manner offers the potential for secondary functions to be nested within a primary pattern’s function. In this example, the hinging action of the miura-ori raises and lowers the tier of cubes. In turn, the uncollapsable cubes function as a spacer—halting the miura-ori fold’s path to a completely collapsed state. The cube’s width define both the time and the distance of this interval.

 

no. 14
Square Twist

A square twist folding pattern consists of the crossed intersection of two perpendicular pleats. When deployed (by pulling L/R or up/down), the structure expands outward in all directions, as the pleats elevate and rotate their square tops. The modular unit that comprises this tessellation is a square paper “switch”—a bistable structure that snaps open or closed. The square twist is extremely challenging to fold. The discovery and development of this pattern was captured in Ron Resch’s “Paper and Stick Film.”

 

no. 15
360° Rotary Reveal
Dissolve

This paper reveal structure functions much like a leaf shutter in a camera lens and moves between two different images. Template modified from the original source: Making Mechanical Cards: 25 Paper-Engineered Designs by Sheila Sturrock

 

no. 16
Opposing Hinges

Activated upon opening and closing card. This form probably originated with Josef Alber's students at the Bauhaus.

 

no. 17
Paper Rotorelief

Inert when still, an illusion when spun, this two-layer, pull-tab driven structure by Tor Lokvig is reminiscent of Duchamp's Rotoreliefs.

 

no. 18
Multi-directional, Hinge Illusion

This form probably originated with Josef Alber's students at the Bauhaus.

 

no. 19
Flasher
Animated, collapsing, auxetic structure

In 2012, this flasher structure was employed by the Compliant Mechanisms Laboratory at Brigham Young University (which develops origami-inspired mechanisms) to design a solar-array satellite for JPL-NASA. A simulation of it orbiting the Earth and can be seem in the documentary, The Origami Revolution. Watch it here. JPL is making use of this same design to block incoming light from stars, from a source there: "BYU/JPL-NASA team put it forward as a concept, but it hasn't yet been matured enough to fly in space. We're working on it, though!" The most recent prototype is here.

 

no. 20
Infinity form
Optical illusion

We believe that this form originated with Josef Alber's students at the Bauhaus.

 

no. 21
360° form
Optical illusion

We believe that this form originated with Josef Alber's students at the Bauhaus.

 

no. 22
Rotary Hidden Picture Reveal

This structure is frequently seen in Victorian greeting cards. Template modified from the original source: Making Mechanical Cards: 25 Paper-Engineered Designs by Sheila Sturrock

 

no. 23
Troublewit pleated toy

This morphing, shape-shifting structure was popularized in paper performances referred to as Troublewit (which often appeared as a small segment in a larger magic show.) The template was adapted from Paul Jackson's Folding Techniques for Designers.

 

no. 24
Diagonal Venetian Blind Reveal
Dissolve Effect

This structure employs four "blinds" to reveal a hidden picture with a pull-tab. Template modified from the original source: Making Mechanical Cards: 25 Paper-Engineered Designs by Sheila Sturrock

 

no. 25
Square Accordion Bellows

The only shape that is both light-tight and collapsible! Bellows were employed in the first view cameras to allow the operator to adjust the focal distance. Template modified from the dielines for This Book is a Camera by Kelli Anderson.

 

no. 26
Paper Net
Dissolve Effect

This structure is frequently seen in Victorian greeting cards and requires a string to lift the "net" of paper in order to reveal the photo underneath. Template modified from the original source: Making Mechanical Cards: 25 Paper-Engineered Designs by Sheila Sturrock

 

no. 27
Traditional Venetian Blinds
Dissolve Effect

When the user pulls a tab, four Venetian blinds move out of the way to reveal a hidden picture. This format is thought to have originated with Lothar Meggendorfer. Template adapted from the original source: Making Mechanical Cards: 25 Paper-Engineered Designs by Sheila Sturrock

 

no. 28
90° form
Optical illusion

We believe that this form originated with Josef Alber's students at the Bauhaus.

 

no. 29
90° form
Optical illusion

We believe that this form originated with Josef Alber's students at the Bauhaus.

 

no. 30
180° form
Form-building

We believe that this form originated with Josef Alber's students at the Bauhaus.

 

no. 31
Freestanding form

This is a hexaflexagon, glued into place on a stand, which reveals the oloid trajectory of its inversion.
More information on assembling the hexaflexagon here—in an article for How Magazine

 

no. 32
Collapsible Card
Pull and twirl effect

 

no. 33
Slant Pull-tab
Pull the tab to modulate the degree of slant

 

no. 34
Pop-up Accordion Riser
An accordion fold that opens and pops up as a book is opened.